Mitchell Hansen
Web Editorial Associate
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As the second week of training camp practice kicked off for the Minnesota Lynx, the team found itself back at full strength as they prepare for the 2017 season.
Natasha Howard, who was previously playing basketball overseas this offseason, returned to the team on Sunday and took part in Media Day on Monday.
“It’s great, especially for Natasha as a young player. We have big plans for her, so it’s nice to get her back and get her back into the flow of how we do things,” Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve said after practice. “I think it’s good to have her back to get her in a rhythm.”
Howard, who was playing in Italy during the offseason, decided to leave her team overseas early to come back and join the Lynx in training camp.
“She played for a team in South Korea and then she was playing for a team in Italy and you might tend to forget what the Lynx are doing,” Reeve said. “She wanted to get back to camp, so we appreciate that a lot.”
As Minnesota returned to practice Tuesday, however, it was back to business as usual while gearing up for the start of another season.
“The captains set a good tone on how to get things done,” Sylvia Fowles said. “It’s easy for the incoming people to follow that model that they carry.”
Gearing Up For The Preseason
The Lynx will begin preseason play on Friday when they host the Atlanta Dream at 7 p.m. at Xcel Energy Center.
“The least of our worries is who we are playing. It’s really kind of are we going to have everything in that we need to play a game. Kind of going through our checklist,” Reeve said. “I think they are going to be excited to play, there’s no doubt about that. We are almost two weeks into camp and that’s a long stretch. I suspect that when we get over there Friday, it’s a group that’s going to be geeked up to have their uniforms on and to get to play against somebody else.”
The Lynx, who have been scrimmaging for the past week or so of training camp, are ready to get the year underway.
“I feel like we have been playing preseason games with the guys (during scrimmages in training camp). We get beat up, we get pushed around, they are good for us,” Fowles said. “I am excited to get the season started and going, so yeah, I’m looking forward to Friday.”